Story at a glance
- Google said it will require returning employees to get vaccinated before coming back to the office.
- This follows the CDC’s new recommendations on wearing masks in public spaces.
- Other organizations and agencies have advocated mandatory vaccinations for employees.
As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention encourages fully vaccinated people to continue wearing masks in indoor public spaces amid the delta variant spread, tech giant Google is extending its work from home policy through Oct. 8.
The company also announced a policy requiring all employees returning to company office sites to be fully vaccinated.
“We recognize that many Googlers are seeing spikes in their communities caused by the Delta variant and are concerned about returning to the office,” Google CEO Sundar Pichai wrote. “This extension will allow us time to ramp back into work while providing flexibility for those who need it.”
The company welcomes employees who want to return to the office to come back and will discuss future return-to-office plans within 30 days prior to transitioning to returning to the office full-time.
This signals a shift in businesses’ reopening plans as new COVID-19 infections are rising across the country.
Other professional fields have encouraged mandatory vaccinations. Earlier this week, a myriad of medical organizations voiced their support for mandatory vaccinations for active medical staff, and the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs formally required all medical employees to be fully vaccinated within eight weeks.
President Biden is also expected to issue a mandate requiring federal workers to be vaccinated or undergo frequent tests.
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